Fulbright College Master Advisor Award, 1998.

Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1994.

Dr. Stewart's Ph.D. dissertation was in the area of high energy physics. While a graduate student, she developed a strong interest in physics education reform. Since joining the University of Arkansas, she has been heavily involved in education research, developing curricula, preparation of teaching assistants, and building ties with high school science teachers.

EDUCATIONAL ENGINEERING

A study of current models for science education, a synthesis of the literature in interactive learning techniques, and my experience in teaching and course management has developed our research with NSF support along three interrelated lines:

1. Formal Modeling and Measurement of Traditional Education Processes. Study of current models for science education reveals a lack of scientific method. Our research allows us to optimize student, instructor and institutional resources and maximize student learning. We will identify cognitive steps that materials should contain or learners should carry out and develop instruments to measure which of those steps are provided and traversed. This understanding will allow department-wide goal setting. Preliminary results offer explanation of difficulty in transporting curricular developments. Methodology developed for this research is general enough to be used at any level of education.
2. Curriculum Development. Our goal is to develop materials and class policies that are effective for any size institution. These will be carefully understood through the research above. Course materials have been requested by institutions in the United States, Korea, and Sweden. As part of the Shaping the Preparation of Future Science and Mathematics Faculty grant, we are working on preparing graduate students to join the professoriate and have developed a departmental TA preparation program.
3. Building the Tools and Putting It All on the Web. We need standard models and measures of efficiency and quality to identify missing, inefficient, and truly innovative pieces of material. Such a system of modeling and published standard models will allow iterative improvement of experimental materials before they are shown to the student. As an education researcher I create materials, but as an educator I am bothered by the need to use my students to initially test those materials. Building these models and developing and maintaining all the models, instruments, and measurements in searchable/downloadable form on the WWW for use by the entire physics community is the current emphasis of our research.

Physics Teacher Education Coalition

A desperate need in this country is for science education to improve at all levels. Fixing it at the University level is important, as that is where we prepare our future teachers for all levels. There are many facets to improving the preparation of future teachers, beyond applying our research to give them an excellent education. Our part in the Physics Teacher Education Coalition gives us the ability to address many of them.

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Last Updated: May 13, 2009
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